A milestone for DuPont & its friends

Published: Monday, July 8, 2013 at 7:39 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 8, 2013 at 7:39 a.m.

With the dedication Monday of a new pedestrian bridge and visitor center, DuPont State Recreational Forest is finally getting some of the amenities worthy of North Carolina’s most popular state forest.

With the opening of the new 120-foot-long bridge over the Little River to an enlarged Hooker Falls parking area, visitors no longer will have to risk life and limb jumping the guardrail and dodging traffic to visit Triple Falls.

Just as important is the new Aleen Steinberg Center at the High Falls entrance. Named for one of the forest’s most passionate longtime advocates, it gives visitors for the first time an indoor spot to learn about the forest.

It is a long-overdue milestone for DuPont, which drew 358,000 visitors last year, a threefold increase from a decade ago.

The forest has operated on a shoestring budget for more than a decade, despite its status as a regional destination for mountain bikers, horseback riders, hikers and outdoors enthusiasts of all kinds.

DuPont has been able to do so well for so long through a close partnership between state forestry rangers led by Forest Supervisor David Brown, and the volunteer Friends of DuPont State Forest. The group is made up of leaders such as Steinberg who 13 years ago battled powerful interests to restore the integrity of the land.

The state bought the original 7,600 acres in 1996 and 1997 from DuPont Corp., which had operated an X-ray film plant for decades in the center of the tract. But the 2,200 acre “heart” of the property with three spectacular waterfalls wasn’t part of that sale. That land ended up in the hands of a group of Texas investors who sold it in a closed bid sale to a South Carolina developer.

Conservationists lost their initial bid to save the tract due largely to misleading and confusing deed restrictions placed on the property just before the sale. It seemed the heart of the forest was destined to become a gated, highdollar housing development.

But the waterfalls of DuPont had a lot of friends. For decades, the land had served as a de facto park for DuPont employees, their families and friends.

More than 1,000 Transylvania and Henderson county residents worked at the film plant during its heyday, and they invited a lot of their friends to come and visit Bridal Veil, High and Triple Falls.

The Friends of the Falls, precursor to the Friends of DuPont Forest, mounted a wellcoordinated, all-out public campaign to add the waterfalls to the state forest. They convinced North Carolina’s top leaders, who in 2000 exercised the state’s power of eminent domain to force the developer to sell the tract. The state ended up paying the developer more than $24 million, nearly four times what he had initially paid.

Today the forest is a major driver of the tourist economy. It is part of the reason Outside Magazine just named Brevard one of the nation’s top five “best places to raise outdoor kids.” The forest has been a location for films such as “The Hunger Games” and others.

Its success is due largely to its volunteer friends, who once the land was protected, were willing to pick up shovels to build and maintain trails, hand out maps to visitors and take the gorgeous photos that grace www. DuPontForest.com, the forest’s all-important Web portal.

Now, at last, those volunteers and visitors will have a focal point in the Aleen Steinberg Center.

N.C. Agriculture Secretary Steve Troxler committed $277,000 from a Tennessee Valley Authority settlement to upgrade an unfinished log building near High Falls into a full-fledged visitors center. The Friends and other private donors kicked in $85,000.

N.C. Sen. Tom Apodaca and Rep. Chuck McGrady urged the N.C. Board of Transportation to approve $600,000 for the bridge and parking lot project. State officials did an amazing job completing the job in eight months versus the 18 months common for most bridge projects.

It’s been a long road, but DuPont finally has the amenities it has deserved all along. Everybody who loves this amazing place should thank the forest’s volunteer advocates, the N.C. Forest Service and state leaders who made this happen.

<p>With the dedication Monday of a new pedestrian bridge and visitor center, DuPont State Recreational Forest is finally getting some of the amenities worthy of North Carolina's most popular state forest.</p><p>With the opening of the new 120-foot-long bridge over the Little River to an enlarged Hooker Falls parking area, visitors no longer will have to risk life and limb jumping the guardrail and dodging traffic to visit Triple Falls.</p><p>Just as important is the new Aleen Steinberg Center at the High Falls entrance. Named for one of the forest's most passionate longtime advocates, it gives visitors for the first time an indoor spot to learn about the forest.</p><p>It is a long-overdue milestone for DuPont, which drew 358,000 visitors last year, a threefold increase from a decade ago.</p><p>The forest has operated on a shoestring budget for more than a decade, despite its status as a regional destination for mountain bikers, horseback riders, hikers and outdoors enthusiasts of all kinds.</p><p>DuPont has been able to do so well for so long through a close partnership between state forestry rangers led by Forest Supervisor David Brown, and the volunteer Friends of DuPont State Forest. The group is made up of leaders such as Steinberg who 13 years ago battled powerful interests to restore the integrity of the land.</p><p>The state bought the original 7,600 acres in 1996 and 1997 from DuPont Corp., which had operated an X-ray film plant for decades in the center of the tract. But the 2,200 acre “heart” of the property with three spectacular waterfalls wasn't part of that sale. That land ended up in the hands of a group of Texas investors who sold it in a closed bid sale to a South Carolina developer.</p><p>Conservationists lost their initial bid to save the tract due largely to misleading and confusing deed restrictions placed on the property just before the sale. It seemed the heart of the forest was destined to become a gated, highdollar housing development.</p><p>But the waterfalls of DuPont had a lot of friends. For decades, the land had served as a de facto park for DuPont employees, their families and friends.</p><p>More than 1,000 Transylvania and Henderson county residents worked at the film plant during its heyday, and they invited a lot of their friends to come and visit Bridal Veil, High and Triple Falls.</p><p>The Friends of the Falls, precursor to the Friends of DuPont Forest, mounted a wellcoordinated, all-out public campaign to add the waterfalls to the state forest. They convinced North Carolina's top leaders, who in 2000 exercised the state's power of eminent domain to force the developer to sell the tract. The state ended up paying the developer more than $24 million, nearly four times what he had initially paid.</p><p>Today the forest is a major driver of the tourist economy. It is part of the reason Outside Magazine just named Brevard one of the nation's top five “best places to raise outdoor kids.” The forest has been a location for films such as “The Hunger Games” and others.</p><p>Its success is due largely to its volunteer friends, who once the land was protected, were willing to pick up shovels to build and maintain trails, hand out maps to visitors and take the gorgeous photos that grace www. DuPontForest.com, the forest's all-important Web portal.</p><p>Now, at last, those volunteers and visitors will have a focal point in the Aleen Steinberg Center.</p><p>N.C. Agriculture Secretary Steve Troxler committed $277,000 from a Tennessee Valley Authority settlement to upgrade an unfinished log building near High Falls into a full-fledged visitors center. The Friends and other private donors kicked in $85,000.</p><p>N.C. Sen. Tom Apodaca and Rep. Chuck McGrady urged the N.C. Board of Transportation to approve $600,000 for the bridge and parking lot project. State officials did an amazing job completing the job in eight months versus the 18 months common for most bridge projects.</p><p>It's been a long road, but DuPont finally has the amenities it has deserved all along. Everybody who loves this amazing place should thank the forest's volunteer advocates, the N.C. Forest Service and state leaders who made this happen.</p>